Method then Principles then Issues

Our method --conversation-- is now well-established via our uncovering of the Liberal Arts. If we uncover the Liberal Arts the gem of conversation is revealed. If we cover the Liberal Arts the gem of conversation is buried under information. As noted in the course introduction, the need to uncover rather than cover the Liberal Arts is acute when it comes to designing a BFA degree. There is no time for everything, unless everything is defined --as James Webb Young does-- as method and principles. Here is what Young says: "Particular bits of knowledge are nothing, because they are made up of what Dr. Robert Hutchins once called rapidly aging facts. Principles and method are everything." (James Webb Young (1965). A Technique for Producing Ideas. New York, NY: Macgraw-Hill). So, our method is sound in general, and in particular it is keyed to the context of teaching and learning in the Liberal Arts at an art school.

This week we began gathering principles within the field of Media Studies by reading summaries of luminaries from Marshall McLuhan and Walter Ong to Lev Manovich and Mimi Ito. Part of the goal for next week is to then use the method of conversation and the principles of Media Studies luminaries to illuminate contemporary issues. We have five categories of issues:

1. Censorship, Freedom of Speech, and other legal issues
   
2. Global Communities and Communication, and Generational Differences
   
3. New Trends (including trends in how people learn)
   
4. Security, Privacy, and related issues
   
5. Internet Business, and related issues
   

Next week each one of the five small-groups in each section of the course will lead a whole-group discussion on one of the above categories of issues.

Meanwhile, in homework, we will be shifting our attention to the third main part of the course, namely digital storytelling. We will take a brief break (no class on Friday for the MWF section, and a shortened class on Thursday for the TR sections) in order to take a step back and clear our hearts and minds before we launch into writing and producing "meaningful first-person narratives" in digital form.

The term continues to unfold really well I think. I am very impressed with the students, and I think the structure of the course is holding its own. There are some folks who feel that the scores they have received thus far on the quizzes are not indicative of their effort or learning, so this weekend I will be doing some data-crunching (meaning I will ask my fourteen year old son who is a math whiz to help me) to see if scores/grades need to be curved.

Other than that, all of the indications I can pick up seem to be good, and I'm excited about the small-group led conversations coming up next week and the digital storytelling work/play after that. I still have some work to do to structure and pace the storytelling part of the term. I want to make sure the requirements, due dates, and grading criteria are very clear. Likely this means creating an overall rubric divided into sections/parts of the process.